Staple-puller.



No. www.

Patented Jan. 2, |900. D. B. DATE.

STPLE FULLER.

(Application led Feb. 21, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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drafts DAVID I3. DATE, OF FRANKLIN, CONNECTICUT.

STAPLEHPULLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,452, dated January 2, 1900.

Application filed February 2l, 1899. Serial No. 706,384. (No model.)

.T @ZZ whom, t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, DAVID I3. DATE, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Franklin, in the county of New London, State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Staple-Fullers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Thisinvention is in staple-pullers, and it has forits chief object the provision of a tool specially adapted for drawing the staples of wire fencing. A. common construction of fencing of the class just referred to consists in Stringing wires upon upright posts by means of staples driven into the said posts. In this class of fencing the staples often become deeply embedded in the posts and their withdrawal becomes a matter of great difficulty, and in order that said operation may be more rapidly and easily accomplished than has been possible heretofore I have provided the herein-described device.

To assist in explaining my invention, I have provided the accompanying sheet of drawings,

illustrating the same, as follows:

Figure l shows in elevation a short section of wire fencing as 1n ost com monlyconstructed, Fig. 2 illustrates such fencing, partly in elevation and partly in section, and shows also my staple-puller and the manner in which it is used. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of my newlyinvented device; and Figs. l.land 5 are elevations of the same as seen from the left and right hand sides, respectively, of Fig. 3.

My said device resembles a hammer in appearance, and may be used as such, the letter ct denoting the head thereof, and l) the handle. The side of the head nearest the handle is straight, or substantially so, but the opposite or outer side is beveled, as at a, and is split so as to form two separated points or claws that are beveled, as at a2, to provide chisel edges. Between the two separate points of the claws I form the two beveled sharp edges t', (shown in Figs. -l and 5,) and which edges are set inwardly from both the inner and outer edges of the claws instead of being formed hush with the inner straight surface in the usual manner. The object of these sharp edges c' is to catch over the top of the staple and by biting into opposite sides take a firm hold thereon, which will enable the staple to be drawn without having to exert a pressure against the wire f. The opposite end of said head is finished with a fiat face extending at right angles to the length of the head. The tool thus provided is, in fact, a chisel with a bifurcated cutting edge and having a handle extending at a right angle from said chisel.

When itis desired to use my device to withdraw a staple CZ `from a post e, the wedgeshaped claws a2 are so placed against the post as to straddle the staple and at apoint slightly above the fence-wiref, as seen in full lines in Fig. 2. By means of one or more sharp blows upon the end a3 of the head a the sharp wedgeshaped claws a2 are driven downward in the rear of the wiref, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The sharp edges t' catch over the top of the staple d, and after the edges c' have bitten into its sides the'outer end of the handle b is raised upward and the staple is withdrawn from the post without having to catch behind the wirefand bend or break it, as is frequently the case where the instrument de pends upon its pressure Vagainst the wire to withdraw the staple. By my construction no pressure at all is brought to bear upon the wire after the lirst one or two blows for the purpose of driving the points down behind the wire, for then the sharp edges engage with the staple and the implement is used to pry out the staple. I bevel from both the inner and outer faces of the body, so as to bring the staple-engagin g edge between such faces, and this construction is preferable to one in which the beveling is confined to the outer face, so as to bring the staple-engaging edge in the plane of the inner face of the body. Where the beveling is done from both of the faces, the staple engaging edge as formed by me has the well-known strength of the familiar cold-chisel, and is therefore not apt to break or chip when the head is driven sufficiently into the wood around the staple. Before beginning the prying action,

as is shown in Fig. 2, the staple may be en gaged directly Without bringing the extractpresenting a sharp edge to engage the stapi ing force to bear, and thus distorting the between saidouter and inner faces, such edge fence-Wire. .following the V shape of the bifurcation and Having thus described my invention, I pinching the staple as set forth. 5 c1ztirn4 Signed at Norwich, Connecticut, this 11th 15 A staple-puller, consisting of a body ct, havday of February, 1899. ing a. V-shaped bifurcation to form extracting- DAVID B. DATE; jaws, and the inner extracting-faces of said Witnesses: jaws being beveled toward both the outer FRANK I-I. ALLEN,

Io and inner faces of the head, forming a ridge ALONZO M. LUTHER. 

